Category: News

The channel is looking at a financial mess in Theresa May’s “strong and stable” UK this week.

The Office for National Statistics released inflation figures for May. This should be good news as there are signs that  inflation does not appear to be rising as highly as expected with recent PMIs pointing to falling cost pressures.

By the end of this week, we will have a much better idea. Last month, UK inflation stood at 2.7 per cent, the highest level since 2013, but it was not clear if that continued into May.

In the three months to March, UK employment grew by 122,000 on the previous three month period. Unemployment fell to just 4.6 percent, its lowest level since 1975.

But average wages without bonuses by just 2.1 percent. This means that wages will be outstripped by inflation which could hurt the UK domestic economy.

There is a possibility of an increase in UK interest rates in the next year or so seem to be diminishing now that the Conservatives did not get their majority.

Economists think UK inflation is close to peaking, the UK economy is not growing as fast as many forecasts at the end of last year, and the yield on UK government bonds has fallen, with the yield on ten-year treasuries below 1 per cent for the first time since last autumn.

British business confidence has fallen sharply since last Thursday’s inconclusive election.

The survey of nearly 700 members of the business group also exposed deep concern over the political uncertainty and its impact on Britain’s economy.

The IoD found a negative swing of 34 points in confidence in the UK economy from its last survey in May.

While 20 percent of members were optimistic about the economy over the next 12 months, some 57 percent were either quite or very pessimistic – a -37 “net confidence” score. That compares with a -3 percent score in May.

Logicalis is nearshoring 65 IT support roles to South Africa and getting rid of the first and second-line support roles, which are currently based in South Wales and Slough.

The move is part of a wider, global managed services growth push by the integrator.

A consultation period with affected staff, which basically is telling the staff they have no job is complete and 50 of the staff affected will be made redundant as a result.

Logicalis UK managing director Bob Swallow said that there are internal vacancies and some roles that have already been lined up for some of those people.

However others will leave the business – particularly in Wales where the company is working with the  Welsh government to make sure those people are looked after.

Despite the nearshoring strategy, the UK business will soon house a new managed services practice set to serve as a centre of excellence for the rest of Europe.

This will be headed up by an Accenture executive who cannot yet be named because he is still working out his notice.

Logicalis wants to use more of its global capability, and it will develop centres of excellence. The South African operation  will provide services to the other Logicalis entities. The goal is to increase managed services revenues.

Outsourcing outfit Infosys has reacted angrily to reports that its co-founders of Infosys are exploring a sale of their entire 12.75 per cent stake in the company.
Reports first popped up in India where it was widely reported as being the “end of an era”.

The move is said to have been triggered by N R Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani’s unhappiness over the manner in which the company has been run since their exit three years ago.

Instead of a war of attrition with the company’s board and management, the promoters appear to have veered around to the view that it might be better to make a complete break from the company they founded in 1981 and took public in 1993.

However, Infosys insists that the story is pants. This speculation has already been categorically denied by by Murthy and Nilekani.

“The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development. We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders,” the outfit said.

It might have been motivated by the fact that since the news leaked out, the share price of Infosys has tanked.

The Fruity Cargo cult Apple is sharing plans to spruce up its channel to provide more opportunities for business partners.

Apple’s Worldwide developer conference (WWDC) heard how the vendor was knocking out some virtual and augmented reality and a HomePod speaker plus some updated desktops and the iPad Pro.

While these are a bit of a snooze in the consumer market which Apple is supposed to rule with an iron fist, the introduction of products that would slot into a corporate environment should be welcomed by the channel.

The Pro lines is an area Apple dropped the ball in recently and this is a segment which is the key to staying relevant in the enterprise space and because some communities (tame journalists, graphists, designers, developers …) were key influencers for the broader consumer community.

Apple started to realise last year that it could not buy off these communities by sticking a few coloured lights on the hardware while not improving the chips and other hardware. Until the beginning of the year, Apple’s Pro range was nearly four years out of date, which made it a hard sale for its channel.